The present disclosure relates generally to message routing and more particularly to automatic escalation in a unified messaging platform environment.
Unified messaging is the integration of different streams of communication (e.g., email, voicemail, short message service (SMS), fax, etc.) into a single, unified message store (e.g., a unified messaging platform) accessible from a variety of user devices.
Call centers are centralized offices used for the purpose of receiving and transmitting large volumes of requests by telephone or other communication devices. Call centers are used to receive incoming communication (e.g., audio calls, video calls, emails and faxes) to an organization (e.g., a company, corporation, business unit, etc.). For example, call centers may be used as a customer service center staffed by multiple customer service representatives (CSRs). Each representative may be responsible for one or more customer accounts and/or types of customer issues (e.g., account termination, maintenance, billing disputes, etc.).
However, a call center is generally associated with a single telephone number or a limited number of telephone numbers. That is, an organization may have a customer service number (e.g., 1-800-CUSTOMR) that all customers call, regardless of the reason for calling. Incoming calls are then routed based on operator routing, hierarchical customer service representative response, automated speech recognition systems, or the like. If a particular customer service representative responsible for the incoming call is unavailable, the customer may be invited to leave a message in the form of a voicemail, such as in the system described in co-pending and concurrently filed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/582,263, entitled “Message Routing in a Unified Messaging System”.
In a unified messaging platform environment, other communications methods, such as email and facsimiles, are also used to contact customer service representatives. In call centers using a single or limited incoming telephone numbers, these emails and facsimiles may be deposited along with the voicemails as described above.
Customers who have sent voice, facsimile, emails and/or other messages for a particular customer service representative may experience poor quality of service when the customer service representative is unavailable for a significant period or if the customer's needs are urgent. That is, the customer may not receive a timely response to their message because the message has not been received by any customer service representative.